The Lucky Country is an insider’s outside view of Australia’s most important political and
economic debates. Hosted by The Australia Institute’s Chief Economist Richard
Denniss, The Lucky Country is a weekly podcast from Schwartz Media which applies
common sense to complex issues.

Andrew McConnell
One of the best ways to cook zucchinis is over coals. I usually split them down the middle and cook them on the cut side only. I cook them until they are al dente, if that term can apply to more than pasta. I season the cut side for 15 minutes before I put them on the coals, and then cook until they are golden. From there, they can be sliced and dressed with most vinegars and any manner of European herbs.

1. Which George Eliot novel is subtitled A Study of Provincial Life? (Bonus point for naming George Eliot’s birth name.)

Middlemarch. (Bonus point: Mary Anne Evans.)

2. John F. Kennedy International Airport is in which New York City borough?

Queens.

3. The human heart has how many chambers?

Four.

4. “Green Light” is the latest single from which singer-songwriter?

Lorde.

5. The acronym APEC stands for…?

Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation.

6. Who is the goddess of the soul in Greek mythology?

Psyche.

7. Who wrote the poem “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”?

William Wordsworth.

8. Which bowler holds the record for the fastest electronically measured cricket delivery?

Shoaib Akhtar.

9. A palmiped has what type of feet?

Webbed.

10. What is the birthstone of someone born in January?

Garnet.

Quotes

LOVE

“When it does happen, it’s pretty wild.”

David OldfieldThe former One Nation adviser admits he hasn’t had sex with his wife in more than a year. Elsewhere, he says “it’s not like she said I was a dud root”. What an aphrodisiac is racism.

AMERICA

“I am not in the job of having evidence.”

Kellyanne ConwayThe adviser to Donald Trump offers an honest assessment of the presidency and its relationship to truth. Conway was backing away from an earlier suggestion that a microwave had spied on Trump.

DELUSION

“I have never, ever admired the British people more.”

Tony AbbottThe former prime minister describes his feelings when Britain voted to leave the European Union. Because nothing makes him happy like self-defeating xenophobia.

DRUGS

“Too many lives are at stake to worry about being fashionable.”

Jeff SessionsThe US attorney-general warns against the evils of marijuana. It’s a safe bet Sessions, despite his name, has never used marijuana or been fashionable.

SPAS

“I’m out of town. Is there any way u can talk with Diane and sort things out???”

Stephen BannonThe Trump adviser responds to a landlord complaint that his “entire Jacuzzi bathtub seems to have been covered in acid”. Which is not at all suspicious and also explains why Bannon looks as if he’s made from acid-scarred mortadella.

LAW

“What Sally McManus has said is the kind of Anarcho-Marxist claptrap we used to hear from anarchists at Adelaide University in the 1980s.”

Christopher PyneThe minister for defence industry dismisses the suggestion from the new head of the Australian Council of Trade Unions that unjust laws should not be followed. Speaking of which, what happened to Peter Slipper’s diary?